Homework 10, Due March 12

As we continue our study of the Vietnam War, it should be obvious to you that those were years of tremendous tumult and bitterness in the US. Coupled with this terrible war was an extended recession (worse than the current financial situation, and lasting about 10 years), and the occurrence of the Watergate scandal (much more on that later). It was during this time that a "counterculture" emerged - young people making decisions and living lifestyles for the express purpose of rejecting all that was important to their parents' generation. Clothes changed, music changed, values changed - and all of these changes were met with hearty condemnation from older generations, creating a so-called "generation gap". This counterculture revolution would set the stage for the massive drug use and sexual revolution (rejection of biblical constraints on sexuality) that are associated with the era.

It's hard now to understand just how far this nihilism defined a generation. (Nihilism, by the way, can be described as the complete rejection of all authority). For instance, when Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California in 1966 his teenaged daughter cried and asked him "How could you do this to me?" (An American Life) By being an elected official, he became a bad guy, part of the "establishment". There was such a complete disconnection between the culture of young people and adults that it's not much of an exageration to say that there were two wars going on at the same time - one military, one cultural.

While this culture war typically was fought in words, that wasn't always the case. Every summer throughout the late 60s and early 70s young black Americans rioted, burning and looting inner cities protesting for civil rights (we'll study the civil rights movement in depth later). At the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago protestors were beaten by police in what the courts later termed a "police riot", and Americans got used to hearing about tear gas and rubber bullets being used to break up demonstrations.

Exactly forty years ago, as the spring semester of 1970 drew to a close, riots and protests were widespread across America. After several brutal years in Vietnam, President Nixon announced that he was ordering an expansion of the war with invasions into Cambodia and Laos. This brought an explosive reaction from demonstrators everywhere, but two events occured that help to define the history of the era, and thereby contribute to the story of who we are as Americans. On the campuses of Kent State (OH) and Jackson State (MS) universities, protests turned violent and were met with powerful police responses. At Kent State four unarmed students, two of whom were not participating in the protests, were killed by guardsmen's bullets. The deaths shocked America as the images of those events were published in the news media.

I would like you to follow the link at the bottom of the page to read a compilation of eye-witness accounts of the Kent State tragedy. When you have finished post your responses to the following questions: 1) Does it seem possible for such an event to occur today? 2) Who deserves the blame for the tragedy? Why do you make that choice? 3) What lessons can be learned from the Kent State story?

Let me encourage you to read critically. Ask yourself which side the author supports, and judge how fairly does he or she seem to be telling the story. As you prepare for college this will be one of the most important skills you will develop!

Here is the link to the essay:

http://dept.kent.edu/may4/chrono.htm

Your assignment requirements are exactly the same as all those that have preceded this one.